Executive chef Brian Wilson slices into a freshly made Daisy pizza, with tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil, at Cart-Driver LoHi on Dec. 11, 2019. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)
The pizza and seafood joint Cart-Driver is blaming remodelers for a 5,000-gallon torrent of sewer water at its LoHi location in 2023 and the costly 13-month closure that followed.
On Nov. 7, the restaurant sued Blue Sky Construction of Littleton and Southpaw Plumbing, an Englewood contractor that has since closed, for negligence in Denver District Court.
Cart-Driver opened in an old shipping container at 2500 Larimer St. in RiNo in 2014 before adding a second location at 2239 W. 30th Ave. in LoHi in 2019. The general contractor Blue Sky oversaw Cart-Driver’s remodel of the LoHi space and Southpaw handled plumbing.
Mainline West, a municipal bond manager, owns the building at 2239 W. 30th Ave. A Mainline executive first smelled sewage there in October 2023, nearly four years after Cart-Driver opened for business, according to the restaurant’s lawsuit.
Five thousand gallons of sewer water had flowed through a broken or uncapped pipe and into Cart-Driver’s crawlspace, causing a three-week closure of the restaurant in late 2023.
“We are so glad that’s almost over,” Cart-Driver posted before a December 2023 reopening.
But three weeks later, a new leak was discovered in the same crawlspace, Cart-Driver said.
Cart-Driver’s LoHi location reopened in January 2025. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
“We learned today that a different section of plumbing underneath our kitchen floor here at Cart-Driver LoHi needs some serious repairs,” it told fans. “We are closed, and we will remain closed while we take care of this issue. That’s likely going to take a month.”
It took 13 months. Cart-Driver switched to catering and did not reopen until January 2025. It notified Blue Sky and Southpaw of their alleged construction defects in March 2024, records show. When those firms refused to repair their work, Cart-Driver sued, it says now.
Blue Sky, Southpaw and their lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
An attorney for Cart-Driver, Patrick Haines with Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti in Boulder, declined to discuss his client and how much money he will ask jurors to award the restaurant.
Cart-Driver now has two pending lawsuits regarding the water damage. Last year, it sued Society Insurance for not covering its repair costs. Society says the restaurant’s 2023 insurance policy does not cover damage caused before then, including the flooding.
Executive chef Brian Wilson slices into a freshly made Daisy pizza, with tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil, at Cart-Driver LoHi on Dec. 11, 2019. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)
The pizza and seafood joint Cart-Driver is blaming remodelers for a 5,000-gallon torrent of sewer water at its LoHi location in 2023 and the costly 13-month closure that followed.
On Nov. 7, the restaurant sued Blue Sky Construction of Littleton and Southpaw Plumbing, an Englewood contractor that has since closed, for negligence in Denver District Court.
Cart-Driver opened in an old shipping container at 2500 Larimer St. in RiNo in 2014 before adding a second location at 2239 W. 30th Ave. in LoHi in 2019. The general contractor Blue Sky oversaw Cart-Driver’s remodel of the LoHi space and Southpaw handled plumbing.
Mainline West, a municipal bond manager, owns the building at 2239 W. 30th Ave. A Mainline executive first smelled sewage there in October 2023, nearly four years after Cart-Driver opened for business, according to the restaurant’s lawsuit.
Five thousand gallons of sewer water had flowed through a broken or uncapped pipe and into Cart-Driver’s crawlspace, causing a three-week closure of the restaurant in late 2023.
“We are so glad that’s almost over,” Cart-Driver posted before a December 2023 reopening.
But three weeks later, a new leak was discovered in the same crawlspace, Cart-Driver said.
Cart-Driver’s LoHi location reopened in January 2025. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
“We learned today that a different section of plumbing underneath our kitchen floor here at Cart-Driver LoHi needs some serious repairs,” it told fans. “We are closed, and we will remain closed while we take care of this issue. That’s likely going to take a month.”
It took 13 months. Cart-Driver switched to catering and did not reopen until January 2025. It notified Blue Sky and Southpaw of their alleged construction defects in March 2024, records show. When those firms refused to repair their work, Cart-Driver sued, it says now.
Blue Sky, Southpaw and their lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
An attorney for Cart-Driver, Patrick Haines with Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti in Boulder, declined to discuss his client and how much money he will ask jurors to award the restaurant.
Cart-Driver now has two pending lawsuits regarding the water damage. Last year, it sued Society Insurance for not covering its repair costs. Society says the restaurant’s 2023 insurance policy does not cover damage caused before then, including the flooding.
